Al Sadd aiming to be the ‘Boss’ of Asia for third time

It’s not without reason that Al Sadd are known as “Al Zaeem” in Qatar. It translates as “The Boss”, a deserving moniker considering their exploits in football, both nationally and internationally. Thirteen-time league champions, 16-time Amir Cup winners and twice the kings of Asia, Qatar’s very identity as far as club football is concerned was driven by Al Sadd for a long time before the emergence of Al Duhail over the past five years briefly stole their thunder.
It’s only fitting, therefore, that Al Sadd stand on the cusp of glory on the Asian stage for the third time having entered the semi-finals of the lucrative AFC Champions League. It’s a tournament they won in 1988 when it was known as the Asian Club Championship, and later in 2011 when they beat top South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai in the finals.
There is a great deal of pedigree here and plenty of history, too, to motivate the team as they prepare for a battle of attrition in the first leg of their semi-finals against Iran’s Persepolis tomorrow at the Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Persepolis, who are playing their second straight semi-finals, are the side who ended Al Duhail’s campaign at the quarter-final stage, rallying from a first leg loss in Doha to clinch the issue with a 3-2 aggregate after winning the second leg at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
The top Iranian side would be much more careful this time while facing another Qatar team in Doha. After all, you can’t push your luck too much. They would have learned their lessons from their match against Al Duhail in late August when an early strike from Almoez Ali left them with much catching up to do.
In essence, Al Duhail’s failure to score more goals in their home match put paid to their ambitions of qualifying for the last-four stage, something that Al Sadd coach Jesualdo Ferreira is wary of.
“It is very important for us to have a strong strike force, as we have a crucial game coming up in the AFC Champions League. We should work towards scoring a big number of goals in the first leg, so that it can be of benefit in the second leg in Tehran,” Ferreira said at a press conference last week.
The scoring abilities of Al Sadd are not in doubt. In fact, in six QNB Stars League matches they have played so far, they have scored a whopping 31 goals while conceding just three. However, Persepolis are well-known for their defence and the hosts could face a tough time cracking their defence.
In 2011, Al Sadd had to go through the qualifying play-offs to make it to the group stage of the tournament. The fact they went all the way under Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati and won the title was indeed the stuff of legend.
Their campaign then was also aided by Iran’s Sepahan’s blunder of fielding Rahman Ahmadi, an ineligible player, in the first leg of the quarter-final. Sepahan won the match 1-0, but Ahmadi shouldn’t have played it as he had received two yellow cards with his former club. Upon Al Sadd’s protest, the AFC overturned the result and awarded the Qatari side the match with a 3-0 verdict. That helped them qualify for the semi-finals where they beat Suwon Samsung Bluewings before accounting for another Korean team, Jeonbuk Hyundai, for the title.
Meanwhile, Al Sadd stepped up their preparations for the tomorrow’s clash under coach Ferreira’s supervision. All players attended the training session yesterday. Qatar international striker Hassan al-Haydous, who missed Al Sadd’s league matches against Al Rayyan and Qatar Sports Club with an ankle injury, also trained with the team although he is still doubtful.
Al Sadd, however, have captain Xavi at the helm and with Akram Afif, Gabi and the prolific Baghdad Bounedjah in their line-up, the task at hand is certainly not beyond them.
Bounedjah is the top scorer in the tournament so far with 12 goals and the Algerian would be looking to once again showcase his tremendous goal-poaching skills in front of his fans in Doha.
Dilan Perera of Sri Lanka will officiate the match, assisted by Priyanga Palliya Guruge and Deniye Gedara. Sanjeeva Wellapada will be the fourth official, and Gamini Nivon and Rowan Arumughan additional referees.
Gautam Khar will be the match commissioner and Chyung Bim Yao referees’ observer.
The other semi-finals pit Japan’s Kashima Antlers against Samsung Suwon Bluewings in Kashima.
The teams twice met in the group stage, sharing a win apiece, before Kashima ousted Shanghai SIPG in the last 16 in what was their first ever knockout stage win and then eased past another Chinese side, Tianjin Quanjian, 5-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Suwon won the now defunct Asian Club Championship twice in the early 2000s but have only once before, in 2011, reached the semi-finals, before being knocked out by eventual winners Al Sadd.
But having eliminated domestic rivals Ulsan Hyundai in the last 16 and then edged past two-time winners Jeonbuk on penalties in the previous round this season, they have a chance to advance to the final of the showpiece event for the first time.